But the Democrats, with their childish protests, took the bait. Symbolic dissent is fine, but this was a cacophony of causes: black clothing (for #MeToo), kente ties and sashes (because of Trump’s Africa insult), butterfly stickers (for the “dreamers”), red buttons (for a victim of racial crime) and the more bipartisan purple ribbons (for the opioid epidemic).

.. Worse, dozens of Democrats refused to stand when the president entered the House chamber, forgetting that one stands out of respect for the office, not the officeholder.

.. In short, they did the same sort of things they (and I) denounced Republican lawmakers for when they did them to President Barack Obama.

.. as nasty as Trump’s speech was, his first 20-or-so minutes contained an effective message — false, but effective — about how his plutocratic policies have boosted the economy and benefited working people. Democrats need a simple, clear and effective counter to that claim, and it is not to be found in the unfocused protests and reflexive petulance they showed Tuesday and again Wednesday.

.. Trump promised to bring change to Washington, but instead he brought more politics as usual. Breaking his promises to working people, he enacted a huge tax cut for billionaires and corporations that will enrich him and his big donors. To pay for the billionaires’ tax cut, Trump and Republicans will have to make huge cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — on top of changes to health care that will cause millions to lose coverage and premiums to soar for everybody.

.. House Democratic leaders went before the cameras to give their thoughts on the State of the Union. They were discursive and aimless... the uncritical devotion Republicans have decided to show Trump, applauding the leader Tuesday night like so many mechanical chimpanzees clapping cymbals, and offering over-the-top praise of his absolutely incredible, greatest-in-history speech

President Trump is making history at a historic level. He tells us this himself.

.. Technically, either trip could be categorized as historical, in the sense that both occurred in the past. But in the sense of being moments of great and lasting importance? Well, consider that on his latest voyage, the president arguably got the most attention when he called the nuclear-armed leader of North Korea short and fat. Nixon-goes-to-China it wasn’t.

.. Trump has always asserted that he is the best and the greatest, but his attempts to write himself into the history books have truly been history-making.Among the things Trump has called “historic”: His initiative on women’s entrepreneurship. Pulling out of the Paris climate-change agreement. Executive orders on whistleblowers, financial services and the Antiquities Act. His apprenticeship initiative. The Clemson football team’s 2016 season. And the launch of a ship named for Gerald Ford.

.. After 11 weeks on the job, Trump reported that he had “achieved historic progress.” At the 100-day mark, his “historic progress” included “historic steps to secure our border.”

.. He predicted that his first Cabinet meeting would be “a historic Cabinet meeting” — and it was, as measured by the volume of praise heaped on him by his subordinates.

.. Other White House officials have given “historic” designations to things such as the Congressional Picnic; HR 1004, the Regulatory Integrity Act of 2017; and HR 1009, the OIRA Insight, Reform and Accountability Act.

Not all bullies are sexual predators or sexual harassers. But most sexual harassers and predators are bullies.

.. I met Mark Halperin around the time I met Wieseltier. Halperin, too, had a reputation for mistreating women. Until now, I hadn’t heard specific accusations. But I could see with my own eyes that he was a bully who, lacking Wieseltier’s charm, enjoyed power plays over colleagues and other journalists. Our president, likewise, routinely attempts to humiliate aides and opponents alike; is it any wonder that he has also boasted of assaulting women?